What We're Watching
Can the jury trust Trump’s former fixer?
Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger in Manhattan state court on May 13, 2024, in this courtroom sketch.
REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
May 13, 2024
Disgraced attorney Michael Cohen testified for over four hours on Monday about his role in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to control negative stories about him during the 2016 election, including paying off former adult actresses Trump allegedly slept with.
Prosecutors sought to establish how Trump controlled his image (allegedly through payoffs and pressure tactics) and what motivated Cohen to participate so enthusiastically (praise from Trump). He testified that he used his relationship with David Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc., to buy the life rights to stories that could be damaging to Trump’s campaign, and funnel money through shell corporations to create distance.
Cohen, who served three years in prison for federal crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush-money deals for Trump, was clear that the former president’s interest in killing these stories had little to do with concerns for his marriage. “He wasn't even thinking about [former First Lady Melania Trump], this was all about the campaign," Cohen testified.
The former president’s attorneys will have their turn with Cohen next, and based on their strategy with other witnesses, they’re likely to try to paint Cohen as a known liar. We’ll be watching how he handles cross-examination – and whether Trump sounds off against Cohen on social.
More For You
- YouTube
The Regime's viral banger "Special Military Operation" is NOW STREAMING on most platforms, including those TWO BIG ONES. #PUPPETREGIME
Most Popular
- YouTube
What is President Trump trying to achieve in Iran, and how does his strategy compare to past US interventions in the Middle East?
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia's oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025.
Sputnik/Alexander Shcherbak/Pool via REUTERS
The US has paused Russian oil sanctions in a bid to stabilize energy markets rocked by the war with Iran. Administration officials stress that it’s a “tailored” measure, applying only to oil already loaded onto tankers, but it’s still a gift to Russia, which has already been clocking an extra $150 million daily in oil revenues since the war began.
A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling, powered by 4x CFMI jet engines and tail number 63-8003. The military plane spotted flying over the Netherlands in the blue sky from Mainland USA to Tel Aviv TLV to support the Israel USA - Iran war known as Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense. Venlo, the Netherlands on March 2, 2026
Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto
4: The number of crew members aboard a US refuelling plane – out of six total – who died after the aircraft crashed in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command said this morning.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.